


Fineshrine

by LuckyPossums



Series: I Am Always With You [1]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Cuddling, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:35:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24894025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyPossums/pseuds/LuckyPossums
Summary: After the destruction of Skulltown and Thunderdome, Bloodhound and Mirage find it easier to find solace together than alone.
Relationships: Bloodhound/Mirage | Elliott Witt
Series: I Am Always With You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839745
Comments: 6
Kudos: 80





	Fineshrine

Bloodhound learned very quickly that Loba Andrade knew how to make an entrance. That much had been evident when she had driven Skulltown and a warehouse full of Revenant's bodies into the ocean. It was a sort of power and determination that they were impressed by.

On the other hand, they had not been impressed by the resulting bureaucratic takeover that had followed. When the Repulsor tower came down, they had been already been eliminated and had watched at a distance as the legends were swiftly evacuated.

This time, however, the Syndicate seemed more careful, none of them had been evacuated following the destruction of Skulltown and Loba Andrade's arrival. One by one, each legend had been taken aside and interviewed for who had seen too much and who might be a security breach. They had taken a long time, dragging the afternoon out into early dusk. So the legends had made their way to Octane's Gauntlet, curing their wounds and relinquishing their weapons.

Even then, the Syndicate seemed adamant that they would not be able to return by dropship until their investigation had been completed.

As restless as it made them, they had remained there. It would only make it easier to leave after all. That had been their sincere intention until they had spotted fresh tracks leading south of the Gauntlet towards the now submerged Thunderdome.

Bloodhound had only glanced over their shoulder once before they began to follow the tracks, if they were not gone for long, then it would not be an issue.

The tracks didn't take them far and soon they caught sight of the last legend that they had expected to see there, Mirage. They almost called out to him but kept quiet out of fear that they would startle him so close to the cliffside. As they came closer, they noticed that he was sitting directly on the cliffside and though they could not see it, they were sure that he was swinging his legs over the edge.

As they slowly approached, they made sure to keep their footprints loud by scraping them roughly against the rubble and sand, giving Elliott plenty of notice. They had forced their breaths to even out even though they could not forget what Gibraltar had told them after the game had been called to an end.

Elliott had been taken down by Gibraltar as the town submerged into the ocean. If he had not been picked up in time, there was a chance that he would have been unable to respawn if he'd slipped off the edge and into the ocean. Elliott had been lucky that Gibraltar was there, even if he hadn't been his teammate, he had been the one to salvage him from the chaos that had erupted in the arena.

Bloodhound had quietly thanked Gibraltar for that and in return, he had given them a gentle and knowing nod.

Elliott didn't turn to them but they knew that he noticed their arrival by the way that his stance sobered up upon hearing the scuffing of their boots.

"The earth is still restless here," Bloodhound told him, "it would be best to return."

He still didn't turn to them when he said, "hey don't worry about me, I've been here for a bit and the spot hasn't let me down yet."

"All the more reason why you should not test nature when you are unacquainted with this place," they said.

They kept their eyes on his face when they watched him narrow his eyes and say, "I'm not."

Bloodhound took another breath, "you are testing-"

"No, I mean I've been here before," he said quietly, "you don't have to go treating me like some kid."

Behind their mask, their eyebrows furrowed. They hadn't expected this, to see Elliott so quiet and small without tacking a laugh on the end of his sentences. It felt unnerving, to say the least. Of course, they knew that Elliott must have fought in Thunderdome before, however, the way he said it was almost personal.

"They will be looking for you," they murmured.

Finally, he turned to look up at them with a weak and thin smile, "I already had my interview about what I saw. Which you know, was mostly me hanging by some rocks and about to fall into the ocean, classic Apex games stuff."

They swallowed and squeezed their eyes shut for a second. At times like this, they sorely wished that they were better at this sort of thing. Gibraltar would know what to say, he would have been able to bring that smile back to Mirage's face easily. On the other hand, Artur would likely be more convincing than Bloodhound thought themselves to be.

Still, they could only try again.

"They'll be leaving soon," they continued, "I am sure you would be more comfortable in your bed than the sands."

He shrugged and his eyes glanced back to the horizon. "I'm sure they'll find something that'll keep 'em busy," he mumbled before he took a deeper breath and his tone lightened. "C'mon I'm fine out here, I've got a great view in front of me and trust me I know what a great view is - I do own a mirror. So learn to enjoy it or head back and I'll catch up with you."

Bloodhound only frowned. They weren't used to this. They were used to hearing his rushed babbling and nervous jokes that made their lips quirk up behind their mask. All that had been replaced with a tension in him that seemed so close to snapping.

So instead of leaving, Bloodhound took a seat, folding their legs beneath them on the ground a little way behind Elliott with a small hope that he would back up to them.

"Uh, watcha doing?" He asked, turning back to meet their eyes.

"You insisted that I learn to enjoy the view," they answered with an upwards inflection in their tone, "so I will continue to admire this lovely dusk we are experiencing."

Elliott only blinked at that and turned back to stare out at the horizon and they heard the resuming _thump_ of his swinging legs against the cliffside.

There wasn't much to admire, they knew that King's Canyon could be beautiful at sunset but by now the sun had faded beyond the horizon. Dusk had set in now, the sun only casting light-filled shadows through the night time clouds. Only a few stars littered the sky now and if not for the circumstances, Bloodhound would have welcomed them.

"So…" He hummed. "Crazy day?"

They huffed, "that is one way of putting it."

"I mean," he started, "I thought that one murder robot was enough but the next thing you know there are dozens of him floating in the ocean like they're having a pool party."

"It is fortunate then," they observed, "that you did not join them."

This time, they didn't see the forced smile that was carved on his face, "ha…Yeah, you're right. I mean I was totally fine and I could have climbed up by myself but uh, you know how Gibby likes to lend a hand."

Bloodhound could not have been more grateful. If Gibraltar had not been there…

They took a long moment before they said, "he said that you tried to push away his hand."

"Jeez Houndie I didn't take you for a gossip," he laughed.

 _Houndie._ That nickname was insufferable. Not because it hurt, not because it pained them or annoyed them. It was because that nickname always sounded so warm, so friendly and free that he dropped it like it was as easy as breathing. They wanted to hear it in a thousand different ways a thousand times over, they didn't only want him to be _friendly_ anymore. They couldn't stand to feel so useless every time he used that nickname, the only word that described it was insufferable.

Bloodhound hadn't expected any of this. They had seen Elliott as a legend with skill and talent, while at the same time hindered by his restlessness. They never would have expected this sweet spot to grow each time he used that nickname.

"I assure you that he was not attempting to spread any story," they informed him softly, "he was only concerned for your well-being."

Elliott just chuckled, "pfft, I'm fine. Just had a bit of a mix up after his airstrike hit me. Thought he was trying to finish me off, I didn't even realise that I was hanging off a cliff until I was back on top of it."

"Well," they decided, "it is good then that he was determined to help you."

"Guess I owe him a drink later then," he easily agreed.

Another longer pause settled between them, only broken when they murmured, "he also said that you would have fallen out of bounds. You would not have been able to respawn."

"Ah," was the only sound that escaped him while he thumbed at the cracked cliff. "Guess I owe him two drinks then."

"Mirage-"

"I thought we were appreciating the view."

They pressed their lips together in frustration, "I have appreciated the view. Now I would appreciate it if you showed some concern for yourself just once."

He groaned, "c'mon it's been a long day."

"Hours ago you were about to fall from a cliff," Bloodhound snapped, "now you have crawled right back."

"Houndie it's not like that," he assured them and their gloved fingers clutched around the loose sand at the call of that nickname.

They settled their eyes on him, swallowing every wince and expression on his face when they asked him, "then why are you here?"

For a moment, he was entirely silent. The dusk and few stars filled the silence between them along with the heavy crash off waves against the rocks beneath the cliff.

They were almost startled when he spoke, "I just wanted to see Thunderdome off."

They swallowed dryly and their hand loosened around the clumps of sand and rock, "alright."

"That's it, alright?" He asked baffled.

"I was only concerned that you were endangering yourself," they told him, "if that is not the case, then I have no reason to pry."

"Oh," he said at a loss for words, "ok cool. Great."

To their relief, Elliott shifted a bit further back from the edge to be able to properly look at them. His legs no longer loosely hung over the side and his face was much closer, inspecting their mask for any hint of escaped expression. The new position was discomforting but they eternally preferred it to seeing him so close to the cliff.

He blinked slowly and asked, "are you really going to leave it at that? What if I was lying?"

"Are you lying?" They asked flatly.

"What? Of course not!" He exclaimed and sat with his elbows on his knees.

They nodded, "good, then I have no reason to worry or to forcibly carry you back to the Gauntlet."

He winced, "I just thought that you were going to prod me a bit more."

"Do you want me to?"

"Pfft, no," he said with a roll of his eyes. "No way. I'm all good. Good in the Gauntlet."

Bloodhound kept their eyes focused on him. They were not so naïve, they knew that he just wanted them to ask but wasn't ready to extend his hand first. They were fine with that.

So they drawled, "I admit…I never saw much of Thunderdome. Skulltown always beckoned my attention first."

"You're not the only one," Elliott agreed with a laugh. "Thunderdome was always an atta-afta-aftertha-it was a second pick. Or maybe a third. Mostly a fourth."

"Then it is a shame that it is now gone when we once had a chance to cherish it," they said slowly, careful to find which boundaries lay between the two and which to press and which to hold.

"Ha!" He chuckled. "Pretty sure that no one's gonna miss Thunderdome. It was a real lazy drop but it wasn't always like that."

"It wasn't?" They asked with a raised brow that he wouldn't see.

His eyes were alight when he blinked again, "are you kidding me? Before the games, this used to be the prime spot in the Outlands for entertainment."

Bloodhound had not heard of that, "it was?"

"You never watched any of the matches?"

"I cannot say that I did," they admitted.

He looked back out to the horizon as if he could clearly picture Thunderdome still in one piece. "Oh man they were something," he told them, "we used to watch the matches every night."

They repeated his words in their head before they asked, "we?"

"Oh, uh…" He fumbled while his hands settled in his lap. "My brothers and I."

Bloodhound could tell that they were stumbling on uncomfortable terrain. Yet they still felt something greater than a want, it was a need now. They needed to comfort him in a way that would make his lips curve into a smile and make his shoulders shake with laughter. But their hands and tongue were heavy and useless and when they wanted to say the hushed words that would calm him or tug him closer by the waist.

They were well aware of the silence between them and seeking to fill it they said, "perhaps Thunderdome may be gone, but the memories of it will always be with you."

"'Course it will," he agreed a bit too quickly to be seen as calm, "just wish I could've seen more of it."

"Are there no recordings of the games?" They asked him.

Elliott laughed as if they'd asked something funny, "it was sort of a joke that the budget was awful and they always missed the good bits."

They frowned beneath their mask, "a shame you could not see it in person."

"Funny story about that," he began, "we, I mean my brothers and I, snuck into one of the last Thunderdome games before they shut down."

"I am failing to see the funny part."

"Hey hold on I'm getting there!" He said with an easy laugh while he stretched out his legs on the sand. "I remember that we were so excited that we were able to get in…And five minutes later it started pouring rain."

Bloodhound gave a low chuckle, "oh no."

"So they had to stop the game before it even started," he continued, "and we ended up sneaking in for nothing and getting soaked."

They could imagine that easily, a younger Elliott soaked under what was expected to be a bright sun, always with a quick grin on his face.

They smiled behind their mask, "you poor thing."

"You don't even know the half of it," he groaned. "I had sand stuck to me for the next month."

Bloodhound gave a small sigh of relief. More of that warmth had returned to his face now along with that easy smile that stood out from the forced grins that they noticed in the arena.

They glanced behind them to see the Gauntlet, "it's starting to get dark."

"I'll be fine out here for a little longer," he yawned with a roll of his eyes as if they were a doting mother.

"Then I will stay with you."

The wince that appeared on his face didn't escape them, "y-you don't have to do that."

"I would not have you freeze out here," they decided. They eyed him for only a second longer before they reached for the buckles on their overcoat.

"W-wait a second-"

They were surprised by how quick the decision came to them, still, they had plenty of layers underneath the main overcoat of their gear. Even without it, they were still comfortably warm and covered.

It only took a few moments before they could entirely pull the overcoat off, "you're shivering."

"I am not c-cold," he fumbled.

"Here," they said and held out their coat for Elliott to take.

Hesitantly, he began to pull the coat around him before he looked back at them, "hold on a second, I'm not letting you freeze either."

They shook their head, "I have many more layers, I am in no danger of freezing."

"No way, c'mere Houndie."

Bloodhound may have argued if not for that nickname. So, they edged a bit closer to Elliott, letting him drape half of the coat over them. It wasn't quite large enough to cover them both properly, although they didn't move any closer to try to bridge the gap. However, to their pleasant surprise, Elliott shuffled closer to them so that they were shoulder to shoulder and they could feel him shaking against them.

"Is that better?" They asked him softly.

"Uh-huh."

They paused for a moment before they asked, "are you sure? If you want the whole coat-"

"Nope! Nope! All good here."

"Alright then," they agreed, "do you have any more stories about Thunderdome?"

He hummed and his fingers tapped against his thigh restlessly, "uh, not really. Besides, I don't want to bore you."

"You weren't boring me," Bloodhound assured him.

Still, there was a half-stuck wince on his face, "are you sure? I know that I can get caught up rambling and it can be ay-ano-annoying. Takes me a few seconds to realise I'm even doing it and when I do- Oh I'm doing it again."

"Truly Elliott, your conversation is welcomed," they promised him.

"Elliott?" He repeated.

Bloodhound felt their muscles tense up and they chewed on their lip, "ah, my apologies. I did not mean to be overly familiar."

"No, no, it's fine!" He quickly rushed to say. "Just didn't remember you calling me that before. Plus, I call you Houndie all the time so it'd be sort of hypa-hypat-hypacrit- it'd be dumb if I told you not to."

"I…Will remember that," they eventually said simply because they couldn't think of anything else.

Elliott. His name sounded so warm in their mouth. Like honey and vanilla, soothing their throat and warming their heart as it spread through them. They wanted to say it over and over again.

He took back their attention when he asked, "so do you have any stories?"

"About Thunderdome?"

"About anywhere."

They looked back out to the darkening horizon, "hm."

"If you don't want to-"

"No it's fine," they brushed him off. After all, they would feel disingenuous not to share anything when he had shared. Eventually, they murmured, "there are places I remember fondly of in Talos."

He frowned, "you mean in World's Edge?"

They nodded with a hum, "so much of it has changed. New cities and towns where there were once nothing. I always enjoyed the geysers very much when I was young."

"Wait seriously?" He asked, that grin beginning to grow. "I would've thought that all that water would funk up your gear."

"Like it does to yours?"

He squinted at them for a moment and begrudgingly admitted, "maybe."

"Hm," they continued, "well I did not always wear such heavy layers when I was a child."

"Uh, wouldn't the geysers be a bit…” He drifted off with a hand gesture. "A bit dangerous if you didn't have any landing gear?"

"Oh undeniably of course," they acknowledged, "though that did not stop me despite how many times my father had to fish me out of the hot springs I landed in afterwards."

He laughed in disbelief, "you're kidding me. I can't believe you didn't crack your head open."

"Me neither."

Bloodhound heard the sand shift first and they thought that he was only readjusting himself until they felt him move closer to them.

Elliott only continued as if the small action was meaningless, "I never would have guessed. You've got to share some more of those stories later."

"I may be able to come up with a few," they said while trying not to focus on the warmth pooling off of him.

They weren't sure what possessed them to move their hand. Yet that was certainly their gloved hand that moved upwards to his hair. His hair had been dirtied by the eruption earlier and there were still debris and rubble that had remained there.

Carefully and quiet, they brushed their hand over the top of those curls that had been dirtied and skimmed a bit of that debris away.

It was only a moment later that they fully realised that they had done and they rushed to explain, "my apologies I- You still had some rubble in your hair."

"I did?" He asked them and they sorely wished that they could have understood the expression on his face. "Uh, is there anymore?"

They swallowed before they replied, "a small bit."

He blinked as if waiting for them to do something before he asked, "are you going to get the rest of it out then?"

Bloodhound had no idea how to respond to that. However, they had always valued actions over words and so they followed his bidding. Their hand rose again, it was dark enough now that they struggled to see exactly were the dirt in his hair was so they followed their instincts as they worked.

They dearly tried to stop from making eye contact with him even though their eyes were covered by their lenses. Even with their gloves they could tell the softness of his hair and wondered how lovely it would feel between their fingers if they removed that layer of material.

It was only when their eyes looked down and took note of his whole body that they murmured, "you're still shivering."

"Maybe this coat isn't big enough for two people," he admitted weakly.

"I already told you that you could wear it-"

Instead, Elliott only moved even closer to them until his head laid resting on their shoulder and they struggled to stay completely still. Or at least, to contain the internal scream that was ringing through their head.

His eyes flicked up to them and he slowly began to ask, "am I thinking of this wrong or-"

When he began to slowly withdraw from them they quickly rambled, "no! I meant…No it's fine."

They were thankful that he simply nodded and continued, "sorry I was kinda a dick earlier. Ok maybe not kinda, I was a total dick and I didn't mean to freak you out."

"I do not think that you were being a 'dick'," they said, "we all have our days."

"Ok…Woohoo," Elliott said before taking a deep inhale. "That's…That's great. Thanks. For you know, listening to me."

They shook their head, "it was no burden. I am glad that you spoke your mind."

"Aw Houndie-" He said with that awfully easy-going smile of his and Bloodhound could not bear to hear it again.

"Don't," they interrupted him, their tone so close to snapping.

Bloodhound didn't want to hear that nickname in that way. They didn't want to hear that sarcasm and grandstanding that he put on when he spoke to audiences and fans. They wanted that softness and eagerness that they'd heard when he spoke of his brothers.

Elliott flinched at their command and lifted his head off of their shoulder and they felt that warmth vanish along with his body.

"Shit sorry I thought - nope, nope, nope, just forget this-" he rambled while pulling his legs back in a beginning to rise up.

They acted on instinct, only caring about explaining what they meant to him as they reached out their arm to take him by the waist and pull him back down.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before they both said, "I shouldn't have-"

They both stared at each other in silence for a moment, trying to decide if this was truly happening.

"Bloodhound-"

"I was fearful when Gibraltar told me what had happened," they admitted. "I wanted to make sure that you were alright. That you were safe."

His eyebrows furrowed when he asked, "why?"

Bloodhound scoffed, "surely you must not- do not belittle my feelings."

"I'm not!" He argued. "I wasn't…I just didn't expect..."

"I am not looking for pity or for you to return-"

He lifted his hands up and motioned for them to stop, "wow slow down there. I thought about it sure. I mean who wouldn't when you're…You know…You. I just didn't think you'd…"

Elliott took a moment to shift his position as the overcoat fell off of him so that he was parallel to them. He was close enough now that they knew he'd be able to catch sight of their eyes beyond the thick lenses that covered them.

Slowly, his hand reached out to feel against their mask, cool in the night and his hand traced the curve of it as it followed their jaw. It was so tempting to them to fall into the feeling of it but they couldn't, not until they heard him speak again and saw that smile.

Even though they wanted to memorise each trace and touch of his hand, they lifted their hand to remove his away. He had already begun to apologise again before they pulled off their mouthpiece.

Elliott's breath stuttered when he realised exactly what they had revealed. They knew what he would see, the varying scars that scattered across their chin and the few that crawled up and crossed their lips. When the silence started to draw out, regret began to pool into their stomach.

He did not keep them guessing for long. His hand returned to that place where it fit ever so perfectly and they let out a low breath. His eyes were wide as his thumb spread out, brushing across the thin scar on their bottom lip. In response to that lovely tender feeling, they smiled against the thumb and their head rolled into the palm of his hand, turning their face to press a soft kiss against the heel of his palm.

A moment later, his hand shifted away and they frowned, fearful that they'd done something wrong. Instead, Elliott placed a hand on their shoulder and leaned upwards to press a soft kiss against their lips.

Bloodhound would have been a fool not to return the gesture.

Their mask was heavy against their face but even that wouldn't tear their attention away from the softness of his lips. They focused on everything that was Elliott, the way that he moved closer, his smile as they kissed and the taste of the lip balm that he had hastily applied before the match.

Their gloved hand moved to the back of Elliott's head, they desperately wanted to feel the texture of his shaved hair on their fingers but for now, they focused on the kiss and the sweetness of his mouth. Focused on the way that Elliott made a soft noise when their other hand went to hold him by the waist.

They smiled against his lips before leaning back, taking in his beautiful face, wonderful curls even when smeared by dirt and a few freckles that they hadn't noticed until they'd been this close. Now that they were, they wanted to kiss each one and map their presence on his skin-

"You look like a puppy dog," he mumbled with wide eyes.

The hand on the back of his head fell to the ground and they dropped him.

He made a choking noise as he rushed to sit back up and continued, "I meant that in a good way! Like you're smiling and I can't see half of your face but you look so adorable and happy and…Wow…Really wow."

"Puppy dog is not a very good compliment," they told him but could not keep the warmth out of their tone.

"I know I'm sorry," he apologised again but he was barely serious. "It was the first thing I thought of. I'll work on ca-copl-complemi-ah, compliments that's it."

They slowly took in his words, "work on them?"

Elliott went still before his voice came out uncharacteristically quiet, "I just thought…I thought that this might be a thing we would do again?"

Distantly, they wondered if he could see any redness on their face because they were certain that they were blushing.

"Again, yes again," they managed to say, "and you're shaking."

They both looked back to the coat which had fallen off of both of their shoulders while their attention had been turned to each other. Elliott took the initiative, pulling the coat back around the both of them. This time he huddled close to Bloodhound so that the coat could cover both of them.

But it wasn't the coat that provided the warmth that they craved.

Elliott's hands were cold and he was rubbing them together until Bloodhound took them in their grasp and he exhaled in relief and leaned a bit closer to them.

"Are you sure you don't want to head back yet?" They asked him. "They would have coats there."

"Mmm, in a bit," he hummed, "just a few more minutes."

His hand drifted around their side and he wrapped an arm around Bloodhound's waist while he stared out to the horizon and the ocean that had consumed Thunderdome. All the while, Bloodhound kept their eyes on him, brushing back his hair to press a warm kiss against his forehead. Their heart clutched at the sight of the sleepy smile that overcame his face and they thought they could take in that view forever.

They knew that this moment would only last a few more minutes. However, when Elliott smiled and rested his head on their shoulder, Bloodhound knew that the future would hold so much more.

**Author's Note:**

> They are in love and you can't convince me otherwise.


End file.
